Lok Sabha Passes New Rural Employment Bill 'VB – G RAM G' Amid Uproar By Opposition - What's Next?

New Delhi: ‘The Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin): VB–G RAM G Bill, 2025’ was passed in the Lok Sabha on Thursday (December 19) amid uproar by Opposition parties. After the passage of the Bill, the Lower House was adjourned till 11 am on December 19.

Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan introduced the Bill in the Lok Sabha two days ago. The new Bill will replace the previous Congress-led UPA government's 'Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005'

What's Next Now?

Now, the Bill will be tabled in the Rajya Sabha for discussion. After getting passed in the Upper House, the Bill will sent to President Droupodi Murmu for her approval. Following the President's nod, the bill will become law. The Centre will then notify it.

Why Opposition Is Targeting The Centre Over The New Bill?

The Opposition is targeting the government for removing the previous employment scheme named after Mahatma Gandhi. The MGNREGA was enacted in September 2005. It started rolling out in phases from February 2006. By April 2008, the law covered almost the entire country. Notably, MGNREGA guarantees 100 days of wage employment to rural households every year.

What The Centre Said About The New Bill?

Meanwhile, the new Bill aims at establishing a "rural development framework aligned with the national vision of Viksit Bharat 2047", by providing a statutory guarantee of 125 days of wage employment in every financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to undertake unskilled manual work.

As per the Centre, the new Bill promotes "empowerment, growth, convergence and saturation for a prosperous and resilient rural Bharat", and lays emphasis on "empowerment, growth, convergence and saturation through public works aggregating into forming Viksit Bharat National Rural Infrastructure Stack".